The Rescuers Down Under
The Rescuers Down Under '''(also known as '''The Rescuers 2: Australia's Most Wanted or''' Bernard and Bianca in Australia') is a 1990 American animated adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures on November 16, 1990. Set in the Australian Outback, the film features the voices of Bob Newhart, Eva Gabor in her final film role and John Candy. The film centers on Bernard and Bianca traveling to Australia to save a boy named Cody from a bloodthirsty poacher in pursuit of an endangered bird of prey. The 29th film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics, the film is the sequel to the 1977 animated film The Rescuers, which was based on the novels of Margery Sharp. This film was the second released during the Disney Renaissance (1989-1999) era, which had begun the year prior with The Little Mermaid, but was a major under-performer at the box-office compared to Mermaid and the other films of the Disney Renaissance era. The Rescuers Down Under was the first animated theatrical film sequel produced by Disney; along with Fantasia 2000 and Winnie the Pooh, it is one of the few sequels that are part of the Disney animated features canon. Plot In the Australian Outback, a young boy named Cody rescues and befriends a rare golden eagle named Marahute, who shows him her nest and eggs. Later on, the boy unknowingly falls into an animal trap set by Percival C. McLeach, a local poacher wanted by the Australian Rangers. When McLeach finds one of the eagle's feathers on the boy's backpack, he is instantly overcome with excitement, for he knows that catching an eagle that size would make him rich because he had caught one before, which was Marahute's mate. McLeach throws Cody's backpack to a pack of crocodiles in order to trick the Rangers into thinking that Cody was dead, and kidnaps him in his attempt to force him to reveal the whereabouts of Marahute. A mouse, the bait in the trap, runs off to alert the Rescue Aid Society. A telegram is sent to the Rescue Aid Society headquarters in New York City, where Bernard and Miss Bianca, the RAS' elite field agents, are assigned to the mission, despite Bernard's attempts to propose marriage to Bianca. They go to find Orville the albatross who aided them previously, but instead find his brother Wilbur. Bernard and Bianca convince Wilbur to fly them to Australia to save Cody. In Australia, they meet Jake, a hopping mouse who is the RAS' local regional operative. Jake become infatuated with Bianca and starts flirting with her, despite Bernard's chagrin. He serves as their ''tour guide and protector in search of the missing boy. At the same time, Wilbur is immobilized when his spinal column is bent out of its natural shape, convincing Jake to send him to a nearby hospital run by mice. Wilbur, terrified of the surgical equipment the doctor intends to use (including a chainsaw), refuses to undergo surgery and is forced to flee. His back is unintentionally straightened by the efforts of the mouse medical staff preventing him from escaping through a window. Cured, Wilbur departs in search of his friends. At McLeach's ranch, Cody has been thrown into the dungeon with several of McLeach's imprisoned animals for refusing to give up Marahute's whereabouts. Cody tries to free himself and the animals using various objects tied together with a hook on the end, but he is thwarted every time by Joanna, McLeach's pet goanna. Realizing that Marahute's eggs are Cody's weak spot, McLeach tricks Cody into thinking that Marahute has died, causing Cody to lead him straight to Marahute's nest. Bernard, Bianca and Jake, knowing that Cody is about to fall for a trap, jump onto McLeach's Halftrack to follow him. At Marahute's nest, the three mice try to warn Cody that he has been followed; forgets as they do, McLeach arrives and captures Marahute, along with Cody, Jake and Bianca. Following McLeach's orders, Joanna tries to eat Marahute's eggs, but realizes they are actually egg-sharped rocks. Frightened that McLeach might be angry with her, Joanna drops the stones over the cliff instead. When she leaves, Bernard crawls out of the nest with the hidden eggs, grateful that Joanna fell for the trick. Just then, Wilbur arrives at the nest, whereupon Bernard convinces him to sit on the eagle's eggs, so that Bernard can go after McLeach. Enraged by Cody's interference, McLeach takes his captives to Crocodile Falls, where he ties Cody up and hangs him over a group of crocodiles in attempts to feed him to them. But Bernard, riding a wild razorback pig he had tamed using a horse whispering technique that Jake used on a snake earlier, follows and disables McLeach's vehicle. McLeach then tries to shoot the rope holding Cody above the water. T save Cody, Bernard tricks Joanna into crashing into McLeach, causing them to both fall into the water. This causes the crocodiles to turn their attention from Cody toward McLeach and Joanna, while behind them the badly damaged rope holding Cody breaks apart. McLeach fights and fends off the crocodiles, but although Joanna manages to reach the shoreline, McLeach is swept over the waterfall to his death. Bernard dives into the water to save Cody, but every time he fails. His actions, however, buy Jake and Bianca enough time to free Marahute so they can save both Cody and Bernard. Bernard, desperate to prevent any further incidents, proposes to Bianca, who eagerly and happily accepts while Jake salutes him with a newfound respect. All of them depart for Cody's home. Back at the nest, Marahute's eggs finally hatch, much to Wilbur's dismay. Cast The Rescuers Down Under features three characters from the first film; Bernard, Bianca and the Chairmouse, all of whom feature the same actors reprising their roles from the original 1977 Rescuers film. * Bob Newhart as Bernard * Eva Gabor as Miss Bianca * John Candy as Wilbur * Adam Ryen as Cody * George C. Scott as Percival C. McLeach * Frank Welker as Marahute and Joanna * Tristan Rogers as Jake * Peter Firth as Red * Wayne Robson as Frank * Douglas Seale as Krebbs * Carla Meyer as Faloo and Cody's mother * Bernard Fox as Chairmouse and Doctor Mouse * Russi Taylor as Nurse Mouse * Additional Voices: Jack Angel - Western Mouse, Charlie Alder, Patrick Pinney - Iceberg Mouse, Mickie McGowan - International Mice, Peter Greenwood - Radio Announcer, Airplane Captain, Phil Proctor - French Mouse, Marii Mak & Vanna Bonta International premieres * United States: November 16, 1990 * Brazil: December 14, 1990 * Argentina: July 4, 1991 * Australia: July 4, 1991 * United Kingdom: October 11, 1991 * Ireland: October 25, 1991 * France: November 27, 1991 * Denmark: November 29, 1991 * Finland: November 29, 1991 * Sweden: November 29, 1991 * Spain: December 3, 1991 * Germany: December 5, 1991 * Hungary: December 6, 1991 * Netherlands: December 6, 1991 * Italy: December 8, 1991 * Portugal: December 13, 1991 * Hong Kong: January 9, 1992 * Japan: April 19, 1996 * Greece: September 4, 2007 International titles * Argentina, Mexico, Peru: Bernando y Bianca en Cangurolandia * Brazil: Bernardo e Bianca na Terra dos Cangurus * Bulgaria: Спасителите: В Австралия * Denmark: Bernard & Bianca - SOS fra Australien * Finland: Bernard ja Bianca Australiassa * France: Bernard et Bianca au pays des kangourous * Germany: Bernard und Bianca im Känguruland * Greece: Μπερνάρ και Μπιάνκα: Περιπέτειες στην Ακρη της Γης (Bernard & Bianca: Peripeteies stin aksi tis Gis) * Hungary: Mentöcsapat a kenguruk földjén * Italy: Bianca e Bernie nella terra dei canguri * Japan: ビアンカの大冒険 ゴールデン・イーグルを救え! (Bianka no Daibouken Goruden Iguru wo Sukue!)(Bianca's great adventure: Save the golden eagle!) * Netherlands: De reddertjes in Kangoeroeland * Norway: Bernard og Bianca i Australia * Poland: Bernard i Bianka w krainie kangurów * Portugal: Bernardo e Bianca na Cangurulandia * Serbia: Spasioci u Australiji * Spain: Los rescatadores en Cangurolandia * Sweden: Bernard och Bianca i Australien International releases For information about international dubs and releases, The Rescuers Down Under/International. Category:1990 films Category:1990s American animated films Category:Films produced by Thomas Schumacher Category:Films directed by Hendel Butoy Category:Films directed by Mike Gabriel Category:Film scores by Bruce Broughton Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios films Category:Walt Disney Pictures Category:Walt Disney Feature Animation Category:American sequel films